Ponder the Orbs
Eightco’s $270M Worldcoin Treasury Strategy (Dan Ives Joins, Ticker “ORBS”)
In early September 2025, Eightco Holdings – a small Nasdaq firm – unveiled a first-of-its-kind Worldcoin treasury strategy, raising $270 million to accumulate WLD tokens. Notably, Wedbush tech analyst Dan Ives joined as Chairman, tasked with overseeing this crypto treasury move. Eightco even rebranded its stock ticker to “ORBS” as a symbolic nod to Worldcoin’s iris-scanning Orb devices. “Changing our ticker to ORBS marks a defining moment… ORBS symbolizes the foundation of trust and authentication in the AI era,” Ives said, emphasizing Worldcoin’s “Proof of Human” vision. The company highlighted that “The Orbs are the hardware backbone of Worldcoin, verifying unique humans, distributing tokens fairly, and creating a trusted digital identity system.” Eightco’s announcement sparked market excitement – its stock surged as much as 3,000–5,600% intraday on the news — underscoring investor enthusiasm for the Orb-powered Worldcoin project. (Sources: Investopedia, PR Newswire, Business Insider, Bundle)
World’s Largest Orb Center Opens in Colombia
In August 2025, Worldcoin opened its biggest physical location to date – a flagship “World Space” in Bogotá, Colombia – dedicated to onboarding users via its Orb biometric technology. Spanning over 5,000 ft² in Bogotá’s San Patricio neighborhood, this center is a hub for “human-centric innovation” and community engagement. Crucially, it houses numerous Orb iris-scanners for on-site World ID verification. Visitors can simply walk in and “use the Orb, a biometric device that confirms a person’s uniqueness and generates an anonymous World ID”. According to the company, nearly 2 million Colombians had already been Orb-verified by launch time – making Colombia one of Worldcoin’s most enthusiastic user bases. “This space is more than just a place to verify your World ID; it is a hub for conversation and innovation,” noted Worldcoin’s regional manager. The Bogotá flagship, opened August 21, 2025, underscores Latin America’s importance to Worldcoin’s growth. It also signals the project’s commitment to on-the-ground presence: the site will host educational exhibits, developer workshops, and other events to advance “universal proof of humanness” in a region where digital ID trust is a pressing issue. With Orbs for all in its largest venue, Worldcoin is scaling up real-world infrastructure to verify humans amid the AI era. (Sources: world.org; biometricupdate.com)
WIRED: World’s smaller, portable “Orb mini” revealed — Apr 30–May 1, 2025
- What was revealed: At World’s US-launch event in San Francisco, the company showed a new handheld “Orb mini”—described as a portable device with two large camera “eyes” for on-the-go iris scans. Reporters saw it onstage (no hands-on demos). It’s slated to ship in 2026. WIRED
- Form factor & role: The mini joins the existing full-size Orb as part of a device-and-app combo: scan an iris, create a unique World ID on a blockchain, and use that ID as proof-of-personhood across apps. The aim is to blunt AI-driven impersonation and scams. WIRED
- US rollout context: World is opening Apple-like storefronts in six US cities and placing Orbs in Razer stores; it also flagged future scanning sites at cafés and college campuses to increase access points. WIRED
- Scale & manufacturing: Executives said they expect ~7,500 Orbs across the US by year-end and announced an Orb assembly line in Richardson, Texas to support the ramp. (This is about all Orbs; mini helps extend coverage.) WIRED
- Payments & partners (broader launch news): Alongside hardware, World teased a Visa-backed debit card planned for later in 2025 (WIRED notes the official language calls it “proposed”), plus Stripe payments support and “mini-apps” like Kalshi. A Match Group pilot in Japan will use World tech to verify Tinder users. WIRED
- On-the-ground snapshot: WIRED’s follow-up piece from the San Francisco “Orb Store” showed eight full-size Orbs ready for appointments (not for sale) and confirmed the store also showcases the upcoming Orb mini. WIRED
- Why it matters: The Orb mini lowers friction by taking verification beyond fixed stations—useful for events, retail, campuses, or pop-ups—while the factory + 7,500-unit plan signals a push toward mass, distributed “Orbs” availability in the US. (Analysis based on WIRED reporting.)
“Sam Altman’s World Crypto Project Launches in US With Eye-Scanning Orbs in 6 Cities.” – CoinDesk (May 1, 2025)
- What launched: World (the project behind World ID/WLD) kicked off its U.S. rollout, outlining a plan to deploy roughly 7,500 eye-scanning Orbs nationwide by year-end. CoinDesk
- Where first: The initial launch cities are Atlanta, Austin, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, and San Francisco. CoinDesk
- Access + incentives: Americans who complete an in-person Orb scan unlock the World app and receive an airdrop of WLD tokens. CoinDesk
- Scale goal: By year’s end, the footprint is intended to be large enough for more than 180 million Americans to reach an Orb and join the network. CoinDesk
- Product buildout: Previewed features include crypto-backed borrowing via Morpho, prediction markets via Kalshi, and a World-linked Visa debit card to spend WLD in everyday purchases. CoinDesk
- Real-world coverage: A second wave adds Seattle, Orlando, San Diego, and Las Vegas; CEO Alex Blania said Orbs will appear in gas stations and convenience stores, enabling ~10-minute verification. CoinDesk
- Manufacturing: To support the ramp, World announced an Orb factory in Richardson, Texas for U.S. assembly and scale-up. CoinDesk